To catch a thief ...

The wind continues to howl … about 18 degrees but a wind chill of 12 – real feel 6 degrees!

We took off and went exploring again … some more mining ruins … (the northern part of the Flinders Ranges contains a great many deserted mines and ruins).  These places are all very remote and would've been even more so in a bygone era.

First stop was Beltana (which is 540km north of Adelaide and about 75kms north of Moolooloo Station) – bitumen – OMG it was sooo smooth!

It is a state heritage listed town established in the 1850s/60s and grew to a population of 390 people and 70 houses by 1883.  They came in search of riches - silver, lead and copper. 

Beltana

In the 1840s, Beltana was considered the “limit of civilisation” and was used by explorers before heading north. 

Edward John Eyre passed through here in the 1840s and John McDouall Stuart in the late 1850s.  It now has a permanent population of about 30.  Many of the original buildings are intact and habitable.  There is a growing community that gathers to restore some of the original buildings. 

In 1870, copper was found.  The same year the Overland Telegraph from Darwin to Adelaide passed through.  One of the repeater stations was located here.  By 1881, the Transcontinental Railway passed through the town.

At one point in its history, there were 2 bakeries in the town.  Each night the locals noticed that their firewood was being stolen.  But how to catch a thief ???  A stick of dynamite in a woodpile revealed the culprit!

On a tragic note, in 1881, a mother and her 4 small children (aged 7, 5, 3 and 2 months old) were all burned alive when their tent accidentally caught fire.  The graves are in the local cemetery.

Sliding Rock Mine

We then headed out onto the dirt again to Sliding Rock Mine where they discovered copper in 1870.  This was some 30km of rough unsealed road east of Beltana heading back into the northern end of the Flinders Ranges.  At its peak over 500 people lived in this remote community.  Again, another mine failure – this time - they struck significant water in the mine which proved too much for the pumps to handle.  The mine failed and families moved back to Beltana.

Tomorrow, we leave Moolooloo Station and have a night of luxury at the Prairie Hotel in Parachilna - famous for its outback luxury accommodation and feral and native fair with flair!